Category: Blog

This is the last day of the year, and your last chance to donate to Agua Viva in 2018.

After every installation, 18 in all, we have a community celebration. We invite the entire village and surrounding areas to come and tour the new water room and experience pure clean ozonated water. We have hundreds of adults and children attend our celebrations. We have a great time.

However, these celebrations are also very humbling. Such great need! So much poverty. So much sickness. We have lots of work to do. So much “irony”. How can these people suffer so much and have so much joy? Well, it is a great lesson of life…. A lesson we can all use.

As I participate in these celebrations, I become greatly committed to continuing this marvelous work. Agua Viva is making a difference. We are giving them exactly what they need. We are enabling them to dramatically improve their quality of life. When I go on follow-up trips years later and see our new friends distributing large quantities of Agua Viva water, I see this new purpose in their lives. These people are lifting themselves up.

Today is the last day of 2018. Our work is not finished. Please consider a year-end tax-deductible donation to Agua Viva.

On my first trip to a third world country, I was shocked to see what a horrible impact “parasites” had on the quality of life in these poor and very poor communities. Although seldom lethal, the impact was devastating. First, many children were malnourished because the parasites (worms) would steal the nourishment from the food they were eating, and the parasites were attacking the lining in their stomachs and intestines so that they were unable to absorb essential nutrients. Second, because of severe diarrhea, the children were missing so much school they were unable to get a good education. Third, many of the adults and children had systemic infections of parasites “untreated” for so long that the parasites began to infiltrate other body areas (beyond the digestive system) where they were more difficult to treat and where they caused more complex problems. De-worming medicine is expensive and it is actually common for parasites to go untreated. And, beyond worms, other parasites also were common place with even more serious affects; like amoebas, protozoa’s, giardia, etc.

Fortunately, Agua Viva purified water removes ALL of these parasites from the water. Schools and communities see an immediate improvement in attendance. And, consequently, quality of life improves immediately (like two weeks). Now, contaminated drinking water is NOT the only source of parasites. Under-cooked food, living conditions, and “living in close proximity to farm animals” is also a significant source of parasite infections. But, we begin with pure clean ozonated drinking water and a good “dose” of health and hygiene education. By bringing clean drinking water to the community, we also raise awareness in the community to other ways to prevent “systemic parasite infections” through improved living habits.

Honduras has provided a great opportunity for Agua Viva and our methods are clearly reflected in our brief history working there. Four years ago, I joined a medical and dental missions team working in Honduras from Church of the Resurrection. I agreed to work with the team provided they would graciously permit me to do a site investigation for Agua Viva during the week. They agreed. It was October 2016. During my weeklong mission in El Obraje (the first time I had been to Honduras), I worked alongside many doctors and dentists and witnessed firsthand the everyday challenges faced by these precious people: poverty, contaminated drinking water, parasites, and complete absence of infrastructure. During that week, as promised, they permitted me to do a site investigation to Quisgualagua, Honduras; a two hour journey by car. Quisgualagua eagerly signed a covenant and Agua Viva agreed to return the next year to provide our first installation in 2017.

The next year, 2017, as promised, Agua Viva returned with a group of volunteers and provided the most beautiful installation in a Methodist Church in Quisgualagua. During that week, a small team from the group went to three different sites and signed a covenant in El Obraje, Honduras, to do an installation in 2018.

The next year, May 2018, Agua Viva returned with a group of volunteers and provided another beautiful installation in another Methodist Church and School in El Obraje. During that week, a small team from the group went to three different sites and signed a covenant in Proyecto Manuelito Orphanage in Talanga, Honduras, to do an installation in 2019.

Now, Agua Viva is packing suitcases to return to Talanga, Honduras, in February 2019. The trip is full and, yes, we will be doing three site investigations, with plans to return in 2020 to do our fourth installation.

So, that is how we roll. During these four short years, we have amassed dozens (if not hundreds) of friends. We have a fantastic in-country coordinator. Our sites are MAKING WATER. Lots of it. And, Agua Viva is providing thousands of people pure clean ozonated drinking water, opportunities for women, and micro-businesses! It has been amazing to see how God has touched the precious lives of these poor indigenous communities.

Today is Christmas. I have been thinking about the old hymn written in 1580 by William Chatterton Dix, “What child is this?”. I remember entering a remote village, high on the Sierra Plains, for a site investigation for Agua Viva. Maybe, a city much like Bethlehem. A small young boy, perhaps five years old, ran up to me, a perfect stranger, a gringo no less, and grabbed my leg. He would not let go. I could feel his ribs through his shirt. I could feel his distended tummy against my thigh; surely suffering from untreated round worms. In his face, covered with chaffing, he held the perfect smile. What child is this? Could it be Jesus? Surely, this was the very face of Jesus. Perfect in every way yet born in a manger. Smiling on all humanity, often suffering, without any of the luxuries of life. A Christmas tree? Probably not. A nice house? Well, he lives in a sod house with a thatch roof and no electricity. But, smiling none-the-less. What child is this? He is our brother and our sister. He shares this world with you and I.

Recently, I posted a video from World Vision produced in Galte, Ecuador. Coincidently, these people are precisely the people we will be receiving pure clean ozonated water from Agua Viva in the spring of 2020. The community of Galte is at 13,000 feet elevation and they have 500 children in their public school with no clean drinking water; our highest installation.
Ecuador is our most marvelous country. Mountains, rain forests, cloud forests, high sierra, coastal plains, water falls, beautiful people, and alpacas! In August 2019, we will be installing in a university of Quechue Indians. They want us to teach THEM how to do installations. That is a novel idea. No problem. “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day….. teach a man to fish, feed him for a life time! “
Agua Viva volunteers are pioneers in Ecuador. Against all odds, we completed our first installation in 2012, and now we have eight installations. It has also been our most challenging country to work; more altitude, more travel, more costly, more everything. But, our work there is reflective of our goals, mission, and aspirations.
Please consider a year-end donation to Agua Viva. We promise to use your donation wisely! Just logon to: aguavivainternational.org.

Agua Viva first began working in Guatemala in 2007 and we have had more success in this country than any other. We love Guatemala; the mountains, the lowlands, the Quiche Indians, all the people, and even the Quetzal (arguably, the most beautiful bird in the world). God is working in this place. Agua Viva has more friends in Guatemala and, not surprisingly, we have more opportunity. Currently, we have four communities just WAITING for us to respond. A school, a church, an orphanage, and a teeny tiny community called Chichipate. They just want clean drinking water! Yup, the same thing we sprinkle our grass with. The same thing we fill our swimming pools with.

We are experiencing miracles in these areas. God is blessing us and we are very excited to serve Him. At Shadow of His Wings Orphanage they said, “Our children don’t get sick any more”. At Marta y Maria’s Orphanage they said, “We have been praying for clean drinking water all week when two Gringos came knocking at our door”. Agua Viva is making a difference. Please consider a year-end tax-deductible contribution: aguavivainternational.org.

Sometimes in life we learn about things so profound that we know instinctively that they are the Truth. Have you ever experienced this? Maybe when you heard a sermon, or read a book, or listened to a lecture in college or high school. I have had many such experiences with Agua Viva. One such experience was reading the book called Benard’s Vision. This book described a family of refugees in Kenya running from persecutors. It had to be true. Nobody could make up a story like that. I had the God honored experience of meeting the author of this book, Bernard Ondeik. An amazing servant of God from Kenya. Curt Mader, Justin Bothwell, and Jim Allen traveled to Kenya in 2017 to meet this amazing man. Benard manages TWO orphanages in the Kisumu area. Both orphanages have about 500 orphans; no parents, no promise of life, and faced with the inevitable hardships of life in these rural areas; prostitution, child slavery, poverty, and disease. It is hard to say “no” to a man like Benard. We believe him. It is the Truth. And, we shall return. In May 2019, we will return to Wacharra, Kenya, and Benard will construct a water room for us, and Agua Viva will install a water purification system for his (His) hospital.

Please join Agua Viva in our amazing journey of faith and servanthood. Consider making a year-end contribution to Agua Viva!!! Just login to our website: aguavivainternational.org.

Today, I had the privilege of watching God in action “first hand”. We have prayed, worried, hoped, dreamed, and doubted if we would be able to complete our work in the amazing country of Tanzania, Africa. And, today, God has spoken, “Yes, you will return, and you will finish the work that God has created you to do”!
In a beautiful church of Congolese refugees, Bales Avenue Congolese Community Church, and partnering with the Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit, we were resolved today to return to this remarkable country to create an “anchor”, a home base, in Tanzania where we can serve poor indigenous families by bringing Pure Clean Ozonated drinking water. Our next team: Nathan Dunahee, Mike Kristancic, and Jim Allen will visit northern Tanzania around the Lake Victoria Rim to find a suitable installation in May 2019. We are pioneers. We will also be visiting an orphanage in Wacharra, Kenya, where we hope to sign a covenant. Stay tuned for Blog Three.

Today, I am starting another series of Blogs called Reflexiones de Moises. As we prepare for the holiday season, with Christmas fast approaching, this is a great time for us to reflect upon where have been and where we are going.

To begin, we have much to be thankful for! We had a great Celebration 2018. A very large crowd showed up to provide encouragement and support. It was great to see so many service minded Christians with a heart for the disadvantaged people of the world. That made it all worth it. It certainly is a lot of work, but God did NOT say “It will be easy” and He certainly did not promise us “comfort”.

However, looking back at the 18 installations now complete and all of the 20,000 poor indigenous families receiving Agua Viva ozonated drinking water, it is SO worth it. So many friends. So many children benefiting from our hard work. And, now, we have four new installations to do just in Guatemala and three signed covenants in Ecuador, Honduras, and a miriad of opportunity in Tanzania, Africa, and Cuba!

We have no intentions of turning back now. Our supporters have spoken and emphatically commanded us to “push on”. We needed that clarity. We needed that affirmation.

Agua Viva was honored to share our vision for water with a group of 5th grade students at Harmony Elementary School in Overland Park who entered the Battle of the Brains Contest. During our discussion and presentation students asked Agua Viva what problems are encountered when installing purification systems in developing countries. After exploring several options, they decided to focus their research on the problem of transporting water from the purification site to a home, school, or kiosk. When a 5 gallon bottle of water weighs 40 pounds, and many communities do not have motorized vehicles to deliver water, the students brainstormed ways to carry heavy bottles of water.
The design prototype they created is a cart that can be pulled by a child, and best of all can be disassembled and packed into a suitcase. The Harmony kids thought of everything!!
Agua Viva plans to use their prototype to build a cart to take to Ecuador in April. Way to go 5th graders. We are so thankful you chose Agua Viva for your project!!